In recent years, the maintenance of vehicle refrigerant systems has been accomplished utilizing closed-circuit recovery devices that prevent the discharge of refrigerant into the atmosphere. Such systems are typically self-contained units with the capability of recovering the refrigerant from the vehicle and subsequently recharging the system.
Air conditioning system additives removed from vehicle air conditioning systems can cause swelling and breakdown of elastomers, for example, in the inlet of the refrigeration servicing unit. Such elastomers may include, for example, O-rings and solenoids located within the refrigeration servicing unit. Additionally, different types of oil may be utilized in various vehicles. For example, conventional vehicles typically require different types of oil than that of oils utilized by hybrid vehicles and are generally not compatible with each other. Hence, it is important to ensure that one oil (compatible with a certain kind of vehicle) is not introduced into a different type of vehicle (which is not compatible with that oil). Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that limits the exposure of elastomers to additives and prevents cross contamination of oils between the vehicles being serviced.